Part 1: BMJ Investigation reveals serious flaws in trials of blockbuster anti-clotting drug
The anti-clotting drug ticagrelor was approved on flawed studies—and remains widely used today despite evidence of scientific misconduct and regulatory failure.
For more than a decade, millions of people around the world have taken TICAGRELOR—an anti-clotting drug to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.
It’s sold as Brilinta in the US and Australia, and Brilique in Europe.
Doctors routinely prescribe it for people after stenting, heart attacks or acute coronary syndrome—a condition where the blood flow to the heart is blocked.
Marketed as faster and more effective than its cheaper competitor clopidogrel (Plavix), ticagrelor became a multibillion-dollar success for AstraZeneca and was rapidly adopted into cardiology guidelines across the globe.
But that foundation is now collapsing.
A series of investigations by senior editor Peter Doshi at The BMJ has uncovered serious irregularities in both the pivotal trial that launched the drug and two key studies that underpinned its mechanism of action.
The new evidence raises urgent questions about whether ticagrelor should ever have been approved—and why it remains on the market today.
